9
Sep, 2022
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Your Choice of IT Support Makes a Huge Difference

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Your business’ technology is critical to its productivity, but unfortunately, this technology can (and at some point, likely will) break. So, what do you do if and when it does?

Let’s go over some of the options that you have to consider.

Generally Speaking, Businesses Have Three Options for their IT Support

A business in need of maintenance and support services for its information technology systems can approach this need in three different ways:

An In-House Team

If your business has a team member or a department that works on the technology that your operations rely on, you rely on in-house IT resources. 

A Break/Fix Provider

These IT companies are those that are called upon to resolve existing IT issues and repair needs.

A Managed Service Provider

These IT companies work with businesses on an ongoing basis to assist them with their IT, proactively dealing with potential issues rather than waiting for them to arise.

In terms of these options, a business that utilizes an in-house team isn’t restricted to using just those resources, either. Many businesses supplement their internal resources by outsourcing some of their IT responsibilities to one of the other options. Otherwise, outsourcing all of the IT needs that a business has is a common tactic for businesses (particularly those too small to dedicate an employee to their technology maintenance).

However, the aforementioned options for outsourcing aren’t exactly equal. There are a variety of reasons that working with a managed service provider (MSP for short) is the better call. Now, are we biased in saying that? Slightly—but that doesn’t mean we’re wrong.

Why Working with an MSP is the Better Business Decision for Your Technology

Let’s run through the scenarios surrounding break/fix IT services and the experience to be had working with an MSP when a critical piece of business technology goes on the fritz.

Business A relies on a break/fix provider for its IT needs. One day, a few of the business’ workstations suddenly can’t connect to the server, leaving many of Business A’s employees stranded. To solve the problem, Business A reaches out to its provider. Unfortunately, their IT provider isn’t able to send someone out to their location for a few hours—or potentially, days—and when the technician does arrive, it takes a few additional hours to diagnose and correct the issue. Meanwhile, money goes out the door every hour Business A’s IT is unavailable, both in terms of lost productivity and in payroll. Business A is then on the hook for the repair costs which, depending on how long the issue takes to resolve, could be quite substantial.

Business B, on the other hand, relies on an MSP like NuTech Services for assistance with its technology, paying each month for services scaled to its needs. By utilizing modern remote monitoring and maintenance tools, the MSP is able to remotely keep an eye on Business B’s infrastructure. As a result, issues are caught early or are mitigated proactively through these remote capabilities, before they create the expenses that accompany downtime. Business B can therefore keep their IT in line while still maintaining their budget while helping to ensure their profitability.

Which would you rather be, Business A or B?

Working with us can help ensure that you’re more like the latter. Find out more about our services by giving us a call at 810.230.9455 today.

24
Jul, 2020
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Demystifying the Cloud for Business Computing

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As businesses have been allowed access to more advanced tools, the cloud and its capabilities have been shown to be among the most useful to operations. Let’s examine some practical applications of the cloud to see why this is.

Defining Cloud Deployments

Businesses have the option to use three different cloud deployments:

  • Private Cloud — Space in a cloud infrastructure is owned and utilized by a single business.
  • Public Cloud — Space in a shared cloud infrastructure is utilized by multiple businesses and users.
  • Hybrid Cloud — Space is utilized in both a public cloud environment and in a business’ privately-owned cloud space.

Regardless of the type of cloud deployment used, it provides considerable utility to the businesses that embrace its capabilities. Let’s consider some of the ways that your business could make use of these utilities.

The Cloud’s Service Models

Using the cloud, a business can fulfill its technology needs and requirements through solutions provided “as-a-Service.” Some of the “aaS” solutions available to businesses include:

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

Infrastructure as a service is simply computing space available in the cloud. The provider maintains the infrastructure that your business relies on to host its assorted needs, such as its operating system, storage needs, and applications. You gain access through a single sign-on that can be outfitted with two-factor authentication for additional security. 

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Instead of paying per GB, a business can utilize software in the cloud. This means that the provider not only takes on the task of keeping the cloud infrastructure maintained, but also ensures that the software solutions themselves are managed and maintained. 

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

PaaS almost serves as a hybrid between IaaS and SaaS. Essentially, using Platform-as-a-Service enables a business to create its own proprietary application without any of the responsibility to create and manage the infrastructure that supports it. Many software developers benefit from a PaaS platform to be able to code and test new applications. 

Cloud computing is a big part of the modern business world. For more information about cloud computing and how to use it for your business, call the IT professionals at NuTech Services today at 810.230.9455.

28
Feb, 2020
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Can Outsourcing Be an Option for Your Business?

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There is a major problem that the owners of most small-to-medium-sized businesses run into: impatience. Their business might not be growing at the rate they like, or they may just have too much work to accomplish in order to grow. Whatever the problem is, outsourcing parts of a business can really bring a whole lot of benefits. Let’s take a look at how outsourcing can help the modern business.

Financial Benefits 

Looking outside your own business to get work done can be intimidating. Can you trust outsourced talent? Will I lose control over my business? Is it really a value? These questions and many more are reasonable to ask, but if there is one sure thing about outsourcing is that there are clear financial benefits. 

The decreased cost of outsourcing is the most well-known feature of the strategy. Obviously, it is extraordinarily expensive to onboard new help, purchase the resources that new hire needs to do the job you need him/her to do, and expand your benefits package (if you offer one) to another person. When you outsource, you may still pay a comparable rate in pay, but you will get someone that has the specific skills you need them for, and you’ll likely save a lot of capital by eliminating the associated costs.

Operational Benefits 

Your organization may see some major operational benefits from choosing to outsource. They include:

Internal Focus

Outsourcing can present a business’ leadership the ability to be more aggressive with their resources. There is a lot to do at the average business, giving regular employees access to trained and reliable resources can free them up to focus on operational issues while speeding up business significantly. 

Access to Skills

Typically, outsourcers come onboard with very specific skills and no long-term employment contract. This gives the organization the flexibility to find the gig-worker that fits the immediate needs of the company rather than committing to one employee over large swaths of time. 

Minimized Risks

In the course of doing business, decision makers are confronted with variable risks. Outsourcing allows many of the risks to be disregarded, although it creates some others. Overall, however, outsourcing will often present a net-positive situation for any business. 

NuTech Services offers high-value outsourced IT services and support for Michigan businesses. If you would like to learn more, call us today at 810.230.9455.

7
Oct, 2019
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There’s Value in Outsourcing Your IT, Part III

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When you need something done that requires a level of skill or experience or knowledge that you don’t have, what do you do? Generally, you call in someone who has the required skill, experience, or knowledge that is required. Your business’ information technology strategy should be approached in the same way. As we continue our series on how managed services can make a business more efficient, we’re considering consultants.

What is Consulting?

Like we’ve established, it isn’t uncommon for people to recruit an expert or a professional with the capability to assist them with a task that the person cannot do. There are many reasons that people do so: they may not have the skill to safely work on whatever process is required of them, they may lack the technical know-how to complete it. Sometimes, it is simply to ensure that something is done the right way.

Whatever the reason may be, bringing in an expert (often referred to as a consultant), is a great way to help reinforce your chances of a positive outcome.

What You Should Expect When Working with Consultants

First and foremost, the consultants you work with need to have a better grasp on their area of expertise than you do, and should be motivated to give you the value that you are looking for in a provider. NuTech Services qualifies as a consultant for managed services, working with businesses to ensure their information technology solutions are optimized.

As such, we are committed to using the experience and expertise that we have built up to deliver the solutions and services that our clients need to be successful. After all, the success of a managed service provider is dependent on the success of its clients, providing the motivation to deliver services that deliver the positive outcomes these businesses are looking for.

There are a variety of services we offer to help accomplish this shared goal through our consultation. If the technology you use could stand to see an upgrade, following through with us allows the decision makers we work with to take the data on their past and present IT strategies. As a result, we can make the best decisions for them that will help to cement their business’ future.

Here are some of the consulting services that we offer:

Virtual CIO

One of the biggest concerns that businesses come to us with regarding their technology is (predictably) the cost associated with their IT implementations. There are a few reasons that that they’ll do so… some are looking to upgrade, others will want to scale their technology to match their business’ growth without outpacing their budget. Whatever the reason, there is one fundamental motivation why they do so:

In essence, these companies want to make sure that their investment will provide them with the value they require (or really, demand) of it.

Working with you as your Virtual CIO, we can oversee your complete IT strategy. Our seasoned professionals will evaluate your current technology, identify which products and services will serve your needs best without breaking the bank, and work with you to strategize your approach to your IT from top to bottom. As a result, you aren’t saddled with the responsibilities to research and come to decisions – duties that you probably have neither the time nor the practical experience to take on.

Business Process Management

One of the major benefits of any business technology is the positive effect it has on efficiency. When working to streamline your processes, your in-house resources may not have the perspective to see the big picture and come up with an efficient and effective plan. An outside resource, like a managed service provider, has that needed perspective. Pair that with the experience they have in optimizing business resources, and you have a winning combination.

By working with a partner who is committed to equipping you with the processes and tools from start to finish, you can shift your productivity/waste ratio in the right direction – and the better your productivity, the higher your revenue.

Vendor Management

How much time has your business sunk, in total, into working with your vendors? How much has that cost the business? You need to keep in mind that vendors are – in most cases – effectively salesmen. Not to say this is a bad thing, but it does mean that the majority of vendors will prioritize making a sale over ensuring you get what will serve you best. However, with NuTech Services, you will no longer need to deal with vendors … we’ll do it for you. Anything you need, you’ll be able to call us and get it, simplifying and streamlining your procurement.

Find Out How Else We Can Help

By working with a managed service provider, a company has a simpler means of handling their crucial technology. Whenever they need a problem solved, they simply lean on their provider to see to what’s needed… whether that’s support, resource management, or a representative to speak to vendors. NuTech Services can be that for your business.

To learn more about our consulting services, reach out to us at 810.230.9455 – and don’t forget to check back here on Wednesday for part four of this series!

4
Oct, 2019
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There’s Value in Outsourcing Your IT, Part II

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Old-school business information technology support isn’t necessarily wrong, but it most definitely isn’t cheap nor efficient. IT support strategies are developing in ways that some time ago, would have thought to be unheard of. Your business no longer needs a full on-site staff designated to maintaining network security or updating software. In part two of our five-part series, we discuss how your business can have the support it needs through managed services. 

MSP Support

The Managed Service Provider (MSP) provide an experience unlike traditional service providers’ methodology. Let’s take a look at two scenarios:

Tom is emailing his boss in regard to a company project when all of a sudden his software closes. Tom tries to re-open his email, resulting in well, no result. Tom, frustrated at his email software, spam clicks the application which causes his entire computer to freeze. He has to ask his neighbor to contact their IT department for him. Unfortunately, they are out for lunch which results in a massive amount of downtime for not only Tom but for the business itself. 

Jerry, who works for a business on the other side of town, is working on a project when he too is experiencing technical difficulties. Jerry has been working on a new business logo in his graphic design software. While opening his file, he is prompted with a message informing him that his software license is not valid. Jerry wastes no time in creating a ticket with his managed service provider. Within minutes, a technician remotes into Jerry’s computer, reconciling the issue at hand. Jerry is up and working in a timely manner. 

Time is money, so why not save yourself time with managed services? 

Onsite Support Services

Managed service providers leverage remote support simply because of how efficient it is. It doesn’t make sense for a technician to come all the way out to your business to resolve an issue that could have been resolved at their own office. However, when a situation occurs where a technician is actually required to be present, managed service providers have trained staff ready to be dispatched. 

When something goes wrong, IT support needs to be present. It isn’t cost effective to have IT support present when your infrastructure is operating as it should.

Keep Business Moving Forward

Time is a business’ most scarce resource, so why waste any of it? Every moment is valuable, so you can’t afford to sit idle waiting for IT to return back from lunch or wait for them to have a free moment. To ensure you get the most out of every second, NuTech Services offers managed services which can greatly benefit your business.

This is far from the end when discussing the benefits of managed services. Return back to our blog page to read part three of this series. If you would like to discuss additional support options offered with managed IT services, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

2
Oct, 2019
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There’s Value in Outsourcing Your IT, Part I

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Computers sometimes appear to have a mind of their own. For businesses, this is less than ideal. If the support structure is not in place to take control of your business’ infrastructure, your business’ profitability may be negatively impacted. In this five-part series, we will discuss how being proactive keeps your technology in check. 

A Proactive Approach 

Which scenario which would you prefer to be in:

You take your car to a shop for a tune up. A technician calls to inform you that your engine has hardly any oil in it due to a leak. However, he replaces a gasket and tops your oil off. The simple fix has cost just $80. 

OR

You notice your car is leaving dark black stains in your driveway, but after a quick google search determine that your car is probably fine, and the money you could be spending on a tune up could be better spent on an iPhone. Once all the oil is gone, your motor has completely seized due to the lack of lubrication, and you have to use your brand new iPhone to call a repair shop. The new motor will set you back $3,000. 

Your answer to the question should be obvious, but how can you take the same proactive approach with IT? The strategy most businesses choose is one that has proven its worth — managed IT services. 

What are Managed IT Services? 

Managed IT services monitor systems through the use of remote monitoring. This strategy is extremely beneficial as an IT staff does not need to be on-site at all times. By using state-of-the-art tools, managed IT providers are able to monitor your business’ network and hardware, ensuring they are operating correctly. If it is not working correctly, a technician is typically able to resolve the issue remotely. This, of course, means you might not even be aware of a potential issue–and most of the time–it will be resolved before you know it. 

Having a fix-it-when-it-breaks attitude has no place in any business. The value that managed IT services delivers cannot be matched. The only comparable proactive solution is having an on-site IT staff working around the clock. How much do you think that would cost you?

Imagine paying staff to sit around waiting for something to break. Now imagine paying the non-IT staff to sit around, while your IT staff tries to resolve the issue. The biggest cost a business faces with malfunctioning hardware is typically the downtime that results from it. 

Avoid Expensive Downtime

NuTech Services provides simple yet effective means which act before little issues turn into operational catastrophes. One solution we offer is a comprehensive patch management service. Not updating software leaves your business susceptible to data breaches. A data breach could put not only all of your data at risk, it could jeopardize your entire business. 

To learn how easily you can adopt proactive measures into your business, give us a call at 810.230.9455. Be sure to check for part two of this series on Friday.

10
Dec, 2018
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Clearing Up a Few Common MSP Misunderstandings

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Let’s be real: the title “managed service provider” doesn’t cast much insight into what we do on a daily basis. Even when people understand what we do, there are a lot of parts that confuse them and lead them to false conclusions. As a result, we wanted to take a few minutes and go over what it is that we do for our clients.

Breaking Down Managed Service Providers (Also Known As MSPs)
First, our title throws a lot of people. What are managed services, and why do you need a provider at all?

In a lot of ways, we’re just like the internal IT team that you may or may not have. We look over and manage your technology solutions as a part of the service we provide.

Again, just a part.

Yes, part of our role is that of a remote monitoring service, but we can provide much more than that. We can advise you on your technology solutions, assist you in procuring and maintaining them, help you implement technologies like cloud computing, help keep your data secure and your solutions compliant to industry requirements, and a lot more than just that.

We Won’t Replace In-House Staff (Or Vice Versa)
When they learn the extent of what we do, many business owners (and eventually, their staff) may start to wonder if they can outsource all of their IT responsibilities to us, essentially eliminating the need for an internal IT resource. While we appreciate the confidence, we wouldn’t recommend that, unless you don’t currently have an IT resource.

The truth is, we work as well in tandem with an organization’s IT staff as we do as a standalone management solution.

Most internal teams or resources face the same problem: an overwhelming workload. Between day-to-day problem mitigation, managing your current technology, and planning for your business’ future strategy, there isn’t enough time for them to do everything that they have to… and that’s where we come in. Our job is to pick up the slack, wherever it may be, so that all responsibilities are attended to.

However, if you don’t currently have an in-house resource and have been entirely relying on the services of break/fix by-the-incident providers, we can replace those, adding much more value than you could expect otherwise.

We Can Handle Most Anything You Throw At Us
Finally, you might be hesitant to reach out to us because you’re anticipating that your particular industry has needs that we just couldn’t keep up with. Compliances and minutely specialized solutions may be a key factor to your success, and you don’t want to risk it all on the expertise of an outside source.

We have one thing to say to that:

Try us.

It is our job to assist businesses with their solutions. This means that, as these solutions evolve and develop, we have to continually educate ourselves. How does this problem need to be handled? Is there a better option that we should learn more about?

As a result, we’re pretty up-to-date on most things IT.

To discuss your particular needs further, reach out to us at 810.230.9455, or read some of our other blogs to learn more about how we can help you.

6
Aug, 2018
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Reduce Your Costs By Outsourcing Your IT Management

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Your business deals with all types of troubles, but one trouble that can be extraordinarily costly is when your organization’s technology doesn’t work properly. That’s why many businesses hire an IT staff who work to mitigate technology-related problems. One issue you should be cognizant of is cost. Typically, IT professionals have training, certifications, and experience and demand an above average salary. If you have a small or medium-sized business that is working with tight margins as it is, it can be extremely difficult to take on new personnel costs; especially ones that don’t directly result in bringing revenue through the door.

A popular solution to this quandary is to outsource your organization’s IT management to a managed IT services provider (MSP), like NuTech Services. Our certified technicians will first assess your business’ information systems to get a good idea where your inefficiencies lie, then they’ll go to work devising a customized technology and management plan to fit your business’ needs. Starting a relationship with a baseline of knowledge we can deliver value through our cost-saving managed services that include:

  • Hardware & software support: We are the IT guys after all. We have relationships with some of the most notable vendors in the industry so our clients can get the hardware and software solutions they need to be the best version of their business. We’ll also ensure that any software you use will be up to date with the latest threat definitions.
  • Around the clock monitoring: In order to provide the ROI we intend to, our services have to reduce or eliminate your organization’s downtime. That’s why we monitor and proactively maintain your network and infrastructure with our state-of-the-art monitoring software. In doing so, if there is a threat to your network, or your hardware, we’ll know about it immediately, and we can take steps to remediate the issue. This allows you to get more from your hardware and avoid the operational problems that comes when you have to stop to deal with network and infrastructure issues. 
  • Backup and disaster recovery: Your business’ data is an extremely valuable asset, and as such, it has to be protected against situations that arise where you may lose it. Anything as benign as a storm could wipe out a lot of hard work. Our backup and disaster recovery platform not only backs up your data periodically, it creates copies that are sent off-site into the cloud, so that no matter what is thrown at your business, your data will be safe. 
  • Network security: Along with our monitoring and management program, we also ensure that your network is secured from the literally thousands of threats that face it every day. From malware to corruption to infiltration, our network security platform keeps your data available and your network working properly.
  • Vendor management: Along with having access to a myriad of top industry vendors, we also can help you manage your vendors, whether we use them or not.
  • Around the clock IT support: We offer a comprehensive help desk where technicians who have remote access to your end-points can solve situational computing problems for your staff 24/7.
  • Options: We also offer a whole cache of powerful IT solutions including cloud computing, communications, printing, conferencing, and physical security solutions that work for any-sized business.

If you are looking for a way to get the technology that can help you grow your business, you are just looking to reduce your IT management costs, or you are thinking of attempting to get your footing on a new IT initiative, call the IT professionals at NuTech Services today at 810.230.9455.

11
Dec, 2017
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Which Approach Puts Your IT in a Better Position?

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Technology management is one of the major issues that challenge small businesses. Do you know the various strengths and weaknesses of having an in-house IT department versus an outsourced IT provider? As a managed service provider ourselves, we’re in a unique position to help your business make an educated decision about the future of its IT management.

In-House IT Management
If your business is fortunate enough to have its own in-house IT department, you know what it to get the right people for the job you need to painstakingly assess all applicants. Since, your business’s in-house team will always be at your disposal, your technicians have to be chosen with the applicable know-how to mitigate the technology troubles your organization will most frequently come across.

On the other hand, small and medium-sized businesses are known to have some troubles, even when working with an in-house IT department. Training new team members can be tricky, time consuming, and expensive, especially if your business has complex technologies that need to have dedicated management. Once these technicians are trained to cover the bases your business technology demands, they will only get more expensive; so seeing a substantial return your investment may not be possible.

Managed/Outsourced IT
Outsourced IT provides one of the most sought after assets for a business: predictable technology costs. When you hire a managed service provider, your business will always be using maintained and monitored technology, where issues are solved remotely for a flat monthly fee. An MSP generally stays updated on the latest findings and technologies in the industry, making them more well-rounded technicians than those that are simply concerned with the workings of your business’ current technology. It’s actually much more affordable as well, as you’re only adding one payment to your budget compared to the multiple salaries that would be assaulting payroll for an internal IT department.

The only issue that you’ll encounter with a managed service provider is letting go of the reigns a bit and trusting someone else with control over your business’s IT. Therefore, trust is something that is absolutely crucial if you choose to outsource your IT management.

NuTech Services wants your business to benefit from outsourced IT solutions. To find out what we can do for you, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

13
Nov, 2017
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Are You Prepared for Employees to Bring Their Own Devices?

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Bring Your Own Device policies have helped many companies save money on technology by allowing employees to use their own devices, rather than taking on the cost of providing devices. However, as much as a BYOD approach can help a business financially, there are some potential drawbacks to adopting one that you should be prepared to deal with.

Managing These Mobile Devices
Whenever there is a Bring Your Own Device strategy enacted, there needs to be Mobile Device Management in action as well. Your MDM software also needs to be monitored, as this will inform you if someone without the proper authorization is accessing data that they shouldn’t be.

However, sufficient monitoring is a time-intensive task. It is even possible that it would require you to add an additional employee to properly make use of your MDM software. Before you commit to these measures, which are a must for successfully implementing BYOD, make sure you have (or can obtain) the resources to run them.

One great solution to mitigate your organization’s overall BYOD costs is the built-in automation that many of today’s Mobile Device Management platforms offer. This automation can be customized and run to allow your technicians to focus on the core aspects of your business’ technology rather than spend all of their time, and your money, monitoring employee smartphones.

Streamlining For Support
A major advantage to providing employees with work devices is the control you have over the devices you provide. By selecting a specific model for your employees to use, you can standardize your systems that much more, and make your IT administrator’s job that much easier. By reducing the variety of devices they need to be familiar with, IT can service them more quickly and effectively.

This can be a drawback to BYOD, as it makes support a more arduous task and–as a result–more costly. With a variety of devices and their specific issues, it becomes a more time-intensive task to identify and resolve any problems. Taking this into account, it may be a more cost-effective option to invest in standardized mobile devices for your company to use, rather than try to manage the variety of devices your workforce likely uses based on personal preference. This is a variable that you will need to consider based on your specific circumstances and abilities. Do you finance devices for your staff? Or, manage the varying devices your staff will bring?

Leaving Yourself Vulnerable
Not all devices are equally suited for use in a BYOD strategy–sometimes, a new feature can lead to a pretty severe vulnerability. Take, for example, any device with iOS 11 installed. Despite having switches in its control center to activate and deactivate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, these switches don’t actually deactivate their connection. This leaves these devices vulnerable, and if they were a part of a BYOD implementation, your business becomes vulnerable, as well.

Wasted Resources
Often, the question isn’t if BYOD makes sense, it’s if BYOD makes sense for a particular employee to have access to. Some companies will reimburse their staff for the personal data that they use. However, if an employee’s responsibilities don’t really require the use of a mobile device, having them involved in a BYOD strategy is akin to paying for their personal use of the device; and, can hinder their overall productivity.

Don’t get us wrong–BYOD can be a great benefit to your business and its bottom line. You just shouldn’t dive in without considering the potential downsides and planning how you will go about solving these problems. The IT professionals at NuTech Services can help. To learn more, call us today at 810.230.9455.

8
May, 2017
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3 Reasons Why it Makes Sense to Outsource Your Email Management

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How many emails does your organization receive every day? Chances are that you can’t find time in your day-to-day operations to maintain and manage your email solution as well as you’d like, and in a world where threats to your organization’s network lurk around every corner, you can never be too careful. How can you make sure that you’re taking proper care of your business’s email infrastructure, without sacrificing the time and manpower required to do so?

Managed IT services allow your business to function without worrying about the status of your IT. This includes email and any services related to it. We’ll discuss three ways that our managed email solution is the best fit for your organization.

Reinforce Security with Spam Blocking
Some of the Internet’s most dangerous threats find their way into infrastructures through spam and targeted phishing attacks. While you might know enough not to click on random links or download attachments that you receive via email, your users might not. All it takes is one mistake to bring down a network, so it’s best to keep threats out of your infrastructure in the first place. This is where enterprise-level spam blocking comes into play. With a powerful enough solution, your organization can keep dangerous messages out of your inbox in the first place.

Hosting and Management for Hands-Off Email
When you’re the one responsible for adding new users and ensuring that your email servers are working as intended, you might find it distracts you from your real objective–running your business. In reality, nothing is more important than ensuring operations are going off without a hitch. With NuTech Services managing your email solution to ensure uptime and optimal mail flow, your organization can focus on what it does best without being distracted by the troubles of technology management.

Archive Your Emails for Later Viewing
Email archiving can be valuable for a number of purposes. For one, it helps to have a record of any incoming and outgoing messages sent by your organization for the purposes of preserving important information. Furthermore, it helps to know who sends messages to others within your organization. For example, if you have a former employee who has recently left your organization, the emails could become an opportunity to check what their reasons were. This helps you prevent turnover in the future.

Email management is not something to be ignored, but it’s also something best left to professionals. You won’t regret leaving your email hosting and management in the hands of NuTech Services. We assure you that we’ll do everything in our power to ensure your email solution is taken care of. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

3
Mar, 2017
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Here’s a Cost-Effective Alternative to Onboarding Additional IT Staff

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An internal IT department serves two primary purposes for businesses. The first is to keep an eye on your technology problems and resolve them. The second is to plan for the future and implement new strategies that will help your organization function more effectively. The problem for the average small business is that their IT department often doesn’t have the luxury of performing both of these tasks.

The root of the problem is that most IT departments are too busy dealing with technology support issues and requests from employees to innovate. Eventually, this lack of innovation could cost your business money.

Do You Know What You’re Paying Your IT Department For?
By definition, your IT department is supposed to plan methods for your business to improve its infrastructure through any means necessary. On the side, they are supposed to help your organization by providing technical support for your assets. By adhering to this model, your IT department should be able to find ways to improve your technology infrastructure, while providing technical assistance for those who need it. The problem is that, as technology becomes more complicated, the help demanded by employees increases.

While it might seem ideal to approach IT support with an internal IT department, it rarely works out. IT departments just don’t have as much time as they need to really work toward improving anything. Often times, these issues are either recurring or resolved simply by rebooting the system, which is a waste of your IT department’s time.

Is Your IT Department Taking Your Company Nowhere?
While your IT department struggles to keep up, your team will naturally need to make forward progress. However, when all they do is respond to problems without making progress in order to prevent them, it’s easy to overlook the fact that many of these problems can be prevented in the future with a little innovation in the present. Plus, when routine maintenance is foregone for the sake of solving short-term problems, you’ll lose out in the long-term due to decreased performance and security issues.

As you can see (perhaps even from your own experience), an in-house IT department is often more distracted by problems that aren’t even theirs to resolve, which pulls them away from work that could make your business better. As a result, many organizations seek to outsource the IT work of their IT department’s in order to make up lost time. This can include innovation, but more often than not, you’ll find that outsourcing routine IT tasks and technology support to be helpful to your company’s overall goals.

After all, your technicians were hired to innovate, so why not give them the opportunity to do so?

To learn more about outsourced IT, reach out to NuTech Services. We can provide a help desk, network audits, and so many more valuable IT services that will help your organization improve efficiency. Call us today at 810.230.9455.

27
Jan, 2017
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Explaining Managed IT to Busy Business Owners

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As a business, you focus on providing a specific good or service to your area. This means spending a considerable amount of time trying to make your organization the go-to SMB for that particular service. All organizations specialize in a certain craft, but sometimes their skills may fall short of their needs in areas that lay outside this expertise. Outsourcing is a simple way for businesses to leverage skills that aren’t part of their expertise without taking the time to learn the skill themselves, and it’s an invaluable part of any business owner’s strategy.

Let’s use managed IT services as an example. While enterprises might have the budget and workforce to accommodate managing on-site networks and hardware, it’s unlikely that the SMB does as well. Technology maintenance requires careful attention to detail, which can only be offered by trained professionals who understand the importance of their task. IT maintenance and management isn’t something that can be learned overnight.

While the benefits are significant, the major roadblock for organizations isn’t implementing a new IT management model; rather, it’s their limited budget. They struggle to resolve problems with their IT systems without breaking their budget, and the typical break-fix IT company isn’t devoted to saving them any cash on technology repair. Instead, a managed service provider tries to take proactive measures to prevent issues from happening in the first place.

Comparing the two solutions side by side gives more than enough reason to forsake break-fix IT services. If you can prevent problems from happening in the first place, why wouldn’t you? When a server or workstation breaks down, countless files and hours of productivity are lost, making recovery difficult, if not impossible.

Managed IT allows for fixed monthly payments, taking the unpredictability out of managing technology. Unlike break-fix IT, which capitalizes on your business’s technology breaking down, managed IT services aim to prevent this from happening in the first place; saving your business money in the long run. You’ll find that when you experience minimal trouble with your IT, the possibilities are quite literally endless. You can invest more time and money into your business’s other aspects.

To learn more about managed IT services, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

26
Aug, 2016
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It Pays to Outsource Your IT

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Technology can be fickle at times. When it’s not working properly, it can hold your business back from reaching its maximum potential. Therefore, in order to maximize your bottom line, it becomes common sense to ensure that your technology is in proper working order at all times. The problem lies in the fact that you may not necessarily specialize in technology management, and don’t have the time or budget to perform maintenance yourself. What’s the SMB to do?

In the past, break-fix IT services allowed users to get the technical support they needed, but at a steep cost. IT companies would tell the user what was wrong with the technology, and offer a price for what it would take to fix it. By nature, this type of IT maintenance is designed to thrive off of the user’s technology failing to work properly. Therefore, from a break-fix IT company’s point of view, there’s no real reason to put preventative measures in place that would save the user money in the long run.

In stark contrast, managed IT services do the exact opposite of their break-fix counterpart, and that’s to save businesses money by preventing issues from developing into costly and downtime-causing problems. This helps organizations keep their IT budgets intact, even if they don’t have a dedicated in-house IT department. Preventative maintenance detects small issues and resolves them in a timely manner, preventing them from becoming major problems.

Here are some examples of effective managed service offerings that can save SMBs money in the long run:

Server Hosting
Your server units are the hardware responsible for the safe storage and distribution of your organization’s digital assets. Therefore, it makes sense that you would want to guarantee that they’re being cared for properly. The problem here is that server maintenance and hosting requires a specific skillset that only a professional technician can provide, and that the SMB typically has a limited IT budget that doesn’t necessarily accommodate hiring new staff members for this purpose. This is often why organizations outsource this responsibility to a managed service provider that can guarantee consistent uptime and the prolonged health of server units.

Network Security
If your business doesn’t know the difference between viruses, malware, trojans, phishing scams, and other common threats, it’s a good idea to have a trained security professional on-hand to manage your network and endpoints. Businesses can outsource the responsibility of maintaining and managing solutions like firewalls, antivirus, spam-blocking, and content-filtering components, that are capable of mitigating threats and limiting exposure to dangerous situations.

Remote Maintenance and Management
There are times when technological issues aren’t immediately known to the user, and they can become disastrous problems later on if ignored. Technology professionals can identify these issues by remotely monitoring statistics like CPU usage, RAM consumption, and other critical factors, in order to prevent them from escalating into major unavoidable disasters. These issues can then be resolved remotely, without the need for an on-site visit from a tech, helping you keep your budget under control.

Backup and Disaster Recovery
Small businesses might be agile enough to respond to threats and disasters promptly, but this is only the case if they’re taking measures to keep their data safe. It’s been shown that businesses that fail to recover their data following a data loss incident, will likely go out of business within one year of the incident. Therefore, you need a comprehensive solution that’s designed to limit data loss and practically eliminate downtime.

If your business has difficulty managing and maintaining its technology infrastructure, why not reach out to NuTech Services to ask about what we can do for your business? To learn more about backup and disaster recovery, network security, and more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.